TWC says no to rebates asked by Senate president in Journal Broadcast dispute

Time Warner Cable offered a boilerplate negative response to a request by state Senate President Mike Ellis (R-Neenah) that it give rebates to customers affected by the blackout of Journal Broadcast Group stations in the state.
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I don't think it's any surprise that TWC removed WTMJ. They had to do so because the contract had lapsed. I suspect that had TWC continued to carry WTMJ after the contract expired, they would have exposed themselves to possible legal or financial issues. WTMJ isn't going to sit idly by and allow TWC to carry their station without a contract in place. In the end, it's an irrelevant point.

The reality of what they are REALLY negotiating over seems to be elusive. I saw some explanation, apparently used by JS saying that TW receives something like 58 cups of coffee and what they are asking for "in addition" amounts to a half a cup. Wow this is strange terminology if you ask me. While they probably think this was a way of putting it terms most people could understand, I think most people would rather know EXACTLY what they are asking for and what is being paid to TW. How about the actual amounts instead of these silly analogies.

Having been a Time Warner Customer for many years, I know how utterly CHEAP they an be. I remember about 5 years ago when they could agree with Channel 11, WLUK, on new terms and at least a couple of Packers' REGULAR SEASON GAMES were NOT seen by thousands of customers. That, to me, was beyond belief that TW would allow that to happen. They did end coming to an agreement, which is always the case, so it wasn't necessary to prevent so many people from seeing Packers games.

They were the LAST, to my knowledge, of the major carriers to get on board with carrying the Big Ten Network. All other major carriers had an agreement while they still held out. Again, thousands of people were prevented from seeing Badger football because of this. They are one CHEAP @$$ company and I am glad to be rid of them.

Time Warner was also the last carrier, to the best of my knowledge, to carry the NFL Network, They held out for YEARS on this one which was shameful. I used to needle a friend of mine every chance I got about him still not getting the NFL Network while I could. Of course they eventually gave in ,but it took them years to do so.

They may be cheap when it comes to these negotiations, but they sure don't pass that on to their customers. Prices keep going up, it's really just a matter of time before people have just had enough and begin to leave in droves. They COULD fix it and make it a value worth having, but they WON'T because that would affect profits.

Ellis has always been a fool and sticks his nose in things where it doesn't belong. While its true he is a Republican, he typifies the classic example of a "Stupid Republican".. You can always count on him to get it wrong. It's a matter for the private sector and politicians seldom offer good outcomes when they meddle in private affairs.. The TWC constituancy will figure out the value of Journal Broadcasting assets. Beyond the Packer games, it would be interesting to see what TWC customers think is the real value of the services provided by Journal Broadcast.. While not a fan of TWC services, I can't say much for Journal Broadcasting assets being a necessary part of my day.

If you miss the channel, vote with your pocketbook: get a differnt carrier. Which is what I think I am going to do. Can anyone reccomend an alternative where I can also get my internet service and land line phone from?

You can encounter a lot of signal issues with rabbit ears. Why should people have to go to additional expense and possible degradation of picture quality because they can't come to an agreement? Everyone knows that they will eventually come to an agreement. This is nothing but drama now.

Cable is becoming a dinosaur. Your best bet is to make two one-time purchases - a digital antenna, like Ryan suggested, and a Roku, Google Chromecast or similar product to access your wireless internet. Then invest in two monthly products - Netflix and HuluPlus (total less than $20 a month for both combined). Pretty much all the TV you'd want to see is available with those two services.

Heck, you don't even need to get the digital antenna if you don't mind watching shows a couple days later (or don't watch the news and/or sports). All the broadcast networks (NBC, CBS, etc.) have their entire content available for free on the websites and typically have the last 3 - 4 episodes available (Fox is different, and only has episodes available for a couple weeks)

My guess would be that cable networks, such as TNT, Bravo, etc., will soon have monthly subscriptions available, too, so that you can just get the channels you want streaming right to your TV.

It appeared to me that Ryan in 2060 was suggesting what MOST people recognize as a very TEMPORARY measure. That is buying a cheap "rabbit ears" antenna. This reminded me of exactly what Time Warner Cable pushed about 5 years ago when they couldn't come to an agreement with WLUK TV in Green Bay.

As I said in another post, this was a horrible situation with thousands of people unable to view REGULAR season Packers' games. That's about as grave a situation as is possible in Wisconsin. The outrage over this was well beyond anything I've seen of this type.

I resorted to using "rabbit ears" and was able to view the games, but the picture quality was poor. Yes, it was better than nothing, but it was of poor quality. I live approx 50 miles from their transmission tower.

What you seem to be omitting here are the REALITIES of such a situation.Not everyone lives within a short distance of a transmission tower. Many people don't live within a relatively short distance will get poor reception or perhaps none at all. You simply can't ignore this REALITY. To not take something like this into consideration is being negligent.

It certainly did NOT appear that Ryan was advocating some NEW type of service. I'm familiar with what you are saying, but you need to realize that this type of setup is NOT what many people desire. If someone looks into this type of alternative hookup and wants to save money, that's fine. However, as I said, this just wouldn't be acceptable for many people.

If you want to suggest an alternative way of watching TV, that's great, but you NEED to realize this isn't for everyone. Surely being the bastion of objectivity that you are, you wouldn't attempt to tell others how they should change their viewing habits. You may not want to admit it, but this type of setup has some real limitations

Rabbit ears with a choice of 35 some stations has always worked fine with us. We live about 30 miles W of Milwaukee and have not experienced any transmission issues using a good antenna. We watch some TV, are out and about some, or just enjoy quietness. We do love the Packers! I'm saving for retirement and, to me, cable is not worth the monthly cost.

ATT UVerse. I recently switched to TWC and the Wi-Fi internet is terrible-not to mention getting them to actually attempt to properly fix it. I will be switching back to ATT Uverse for this and maybe the phone as well.

While I don't disagree with Time Warners postition in this disupute. Time warner is one of the worst companies for customer service. I have direct tv and anytime their has been a dispute they will issue some sort of credit if you call them.

If you call time warner, good luck getting anything more than a $5.00 credit on anything and it takes a lot of arm twisting to get them to do that. Last major cable last satellite company to get the nfl and big ten networks. Its all about the short term profits with time warner. They do a lousy job of taking care of current and long time subscribers.

One day I can only pray that google or even verizon fios will come to town with internet service and I will be rid of time warner for my internet too.

I totally agree that trying to get a credit out of Time Warner is ridiculous. My phone service was disrupted for 2-3 days and they literally thought that "sorry" was enough, until I specifically asked for a credit. Even then, they would only offer 2 days, because I wasn't 100% certain about the third. I just saw in the fine print that my bill is going up and tried to call to ask about different deals--and they disconnected me while transferring me to someone who was authorized to tell me about deals. It is a ridiculous customer service model.

Yeah, I'm sure the people NOT receiving NBC programming aren't saying "so what." If they can't view Packers' preseason football and NBC Sunday Night football, I am confident that " so what" won't be the most common expression being uttered.

In all fairness, I suspect the fact that WTMJ and their affiliates, like TV-26 in Green Bay, becoming "The Official Packers Station" might some bearing on their stand on this issue. I'm sure they feel they have more bargaining power because of this.

In the end, doesn't it boil down to who needs who the most? It really isn't that much money, as WTMJ insists it only a few cents. So why doesn't WTMJ want to pay for being broadcast? I say that WTMJ will cave.

I agree... I think WTMJ will cave in because their viewership numbers must be in a free fall from this. Some of us are forced to use TWC (condo won't allow antenna's or satellites).... I feel like TWC is a monopoly in some cases that should be stopped by the FTC !